Taoiseach Bertie Ahern yesterday played down any suggestion that the Government would suffer a backlash at the polls over the privatisation of Aer Lingus and insisted the move was the only option to secure the future of the company.
Mr Ahern acknowledged that workers in Aer Lingus were concerned about the privatisation move, but he pointed out that the Government was committed to ensuring a viable future for the company while also working to ensure staff pension rights are properly resourced.
"What we have been doing in Government, and Fianna Fáil have played a large part in that, is to try to make Aer Lingus viable, to expand it and secure its jobs and its future and that's what we're doing and I would hope that would have strong support from the staff.
"It's not many years ago that Aer Lingus were in major difficulty, but we have to make strategic moves in the interest of the company and we have been very careful to make sure that issues such as pensions for existing staff and former staff are protected in this," he said.
Mr Ahern said management in Aer Lingus was "engaging very actively with the staff" on the concerns they had over the privatisation and he was very hopeful that outstanding issues would be resolved before reiterating that the State would remain involved in the airline.
"It's been my political conviction that the State will stay as part of Aer Lingus in the long term with at least a 25 per cent share - we will do that because it is a strategic industry and it's important for us to stay part of aviation," he said.
Mr Ahern was speaking at Carrigtwohill in east Cork, where he officially opened German pharmaceutical company Altana's new €67 million tablet production plant, which will employ some 150 people when fully operational.
Earlier, Mr Ahern announced the development of a new National Marine Headquarters at Clonakilty in west Cork, where he expressed optimism that Donegal independent Fianna Fáil TD Niall Blaney and his organisation would be incorporated into the party in the near future.
Mr Ahern said that there was overwhelming support at a near full meeting of the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party recently for the move and an implementation group drawn from the party and Mr Blaney's organisation will be set up to resolve any issues.
"It's been mooted for some time, Niall Blaney and his father before him have been supporting this Government for the past nine years - the party nationally and a large element in Donegal are very anxious to do it and we want to do it quickly," he said.
"We hope this can be finalised with goodwill on all sides - it's an old sore in Fianna Fáil that's been there for 36 years and it's the view of the leadership and the entire party that we would resolve this issue quickly and we would ask our people to have goodwill."
Mr Ahern, who also opened the third phase of the Shipton Group's €200 million Blackpool Urban regeneration in Cork city, dismissed Opposition criticism of the inquiry into the Attorney General's handling of the statutory rape Supreme Court challenge.
Mr Ahern denied the terms of reference of the inquiry were too restrictive and designed to protect members of the Cabinet and he insisted the case was handled professionally in both the DPP's office and the AG's office and by other relevant officials.
"The Attorney General should have been informed but that's not the point - the point is the case was lost because the Supreme Court made the judgment and that's the issue," Mr Ahern said.
